Agricultural Supply Chains and

Industry 4.0: Technological Advance for

Sustainability Stella Despoudi
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Agricultural Supply Chains
and Industry 4.0
Technological Advance for
Sustainability

Stella Despoudi
Konstantina Spanaki
Oscar Rodriguez Espindola
Efpraxia D. Zamani
Agricultural Supply Chains and Industry 4.0
 Stella Despoudi • Konstantina Spanaki
Oscar Rodriguez-Espindola
Efpraxia D. Zamani

Agricultural Supply
Chains and Industry 4.0
Technological Advance for Sustainability
Stella Despoudi Konstantina Spanaki
Aston Business School Business School
Aston University Loughborough University
Birmingham, UK Loughborough, UK
Department of Business Administration
Efpraxia D. Zamani
University of Western Macedonia
Information School
Grevena, Greece
The University of Sheffield
Sheffield, UK
Oscar Rodriguez-Espindola
Aston University
Birmingham, UK

ISBN 978-3-030-72769-7    ISBN 978-3-030-72770-3 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72770-3

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 Preface

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the current topics in relation to

Agricultural 4.0 Supply Chains. Practical insights to the topic are provided
through the discussion of relevant industrial examples were agriculture 4.0
technologies have been applied.
The current agricultural supply chains are facing many different issues
and their future sustainability is questioned. Some of these issues are
related to food loss, food safety, food insecurity and accessibility, increased
demand for food, decreasing natural resources, raw materials scarcity, and
global food crisis. It is important to understand these issues and the role
that technology plays in solving these issues. Agriculture 4.0 is a relatively
new concept although producers have been using other kinds of technolo-
gies for ages. The concept of agriculture 4.0 came from Industry 4.0.
Thus, in this book the industry 4.0 and then the agriculture 4.0 concepts
are discussed.
There is a wide range of industry 4.0 applications which are also adopted
as part of agriculture 4.0. In the ASC context the most well-known tech-
nological applications are about smart farming applications, smart devices
and platforms, IoT, temperature control applications, blockchain applica-
tions, tracking and tracing technologies, autonomous land farming robots,
autonomous aerial farming robots and smart monitors. Different ASC
entities adopt different technologies that are transforming their opera-
tions. Changes are evident in all the different ASC entities operations.
Sustainability and circular economy are hot topics in ASCs and companies

v
vi PREFACE

cannot ignore them anymore. These can be enabled through adoption of

relevant agricultural 4.0 technologies and the results could lead to sustain-
able performance.
Agricultural 4.0 technological applications can bring many advantages
to ASC companies such as real-time data analysis and decrease of opera-
tional costs, increase in revenue and production flexibility, improvement in
sustainability and enables circular economy, enhanced reliability and
uptime, self-optimisation and quality of service, and improved infrastruc-
ture. However, agricultural 4.0 technologies are not panacea. At the
moment there are several challenges which are mainly faced by early
adopters or SMEs. Some of these challenges are sector heterogeneity, farm
size, validation and collaboration, safety and security investment costs, and
design and compatibility. Research about agriculture 4.0 is still in this
infancy and there are numerous research opportunities some of which are
discussed in the end of this book.
I would like to thank the co-authors of this book for sharing their ideas
from the diverse disciples in which they are working and for making this
book possible.

Birmingham, UK Stella Despoudi

 Contents

1 Introduction to This Book 1

2 Definition, Current Issues and Areas for Improvement

in Agricultural Supply Chains 3
2.1 Definition of Agricultural Supply Chain (ASC) 3
2.2 The Need for Value-Addition in ASC 4
2.3 Key Issues in Agricultural Supply Chains 5
2.4 Summary10
References10

3 From Industry 4.0 to Agriculture 4.013

3.1 The Evolution of Industry 4.013
3.1.1 Definition of Industry 4.013
3.1.2 The Evolution to Industry 4.014
3.1.3 Technological Applications of Industry 4.016
3.1.4 Big Data and Analytics17
3.1.5 Autonomous Robots17
3.1.6 Simulation18
3.1.7 Horizontal and Vertical System Integration18
3.1.8 The Industrial Internet of Things (IoT)18
3.1.9 Cyber Security and Cyber Physical Systems19
3.1.10 The Cloud19
3.1.11 Additive Manufacturing20
3.1.12 Augmented Reality20

vii
viii Contents

3.2 The Emergence of the Agriculture 4.0 Concept20

3.2.1 Agriculture 4.020
3.2.2 The Evolution of Agricultural 4.0 Technology24
3.3 Summary26
References26

4 Technological Applications of Agricultural 4.0 Supply

Chains29
4.1 Smart Farming29
4.2 Smart Devices and Platforms31
4.3 IoT31
4.4 Temperature Control Applications32
4.5 Blockchain Applications32
4.6 Tracking and Tracing Technologies33
4.7 Autonomous Land Farming Robots33
4.8 Autonomous Aerial Farming Robots34
4.9 Smart Monitors34
4.10 Summary34
References35

5 Data Sharing and the Transformation Agricultural 4.0

Supply Chain Operations37
5.1 Data Sharing in Agriculture 4.037
5.2 The Transformation of the Agricultural 4.0 Supply
Chain Operations39
5.2.1 Farmers Operations39
5.2.2 Processors Operations40
5.2.3 Distributors Operations41
5.2.4 Retailers Operations42
5.2.5 Consumers44
5.3 Summary44
References44

6 Sustainability in Agricultural 4.0 Supply Chains47

6.1 Sustainability Definition47
6.2 The Triple Bottom Line Concept48
 Contents  ix

6.3 Sustainability in Agricultural Supply Chains49

6.4 Sustainable Performance50
6.5 Summary51
References51

7 Circular Economy in Agricultural Supply Chains53

7.1 Definition of Circular Economy53
7.2 The Need for Circular Economy in Agricultural Supply
Chains55
7.3 Towards Sustainable and Circular Agricultural 4.0
Supply Chains Through Agriculture 4.057
7.3.1 The Relationship Between CSR, Sustainability,
CE, and Agriculture 4.057
7.3.2 Circular Economy Practices58
7.3.3 Circular Economy and Agriculture 4.061
7.4 Summary62
References62

8 Opportunities of Agricultural 4.0 Supply Chains65

8.1 Real-Time Data Analysis and Decrease
of Operational Costs65
8.2 Increase in Revenue and Production Flexibility66
8.3 Improves Sustainability and Enables Circular Economy67
8.4 Enhances Reliability and Uptime67
8.5 Self-Optimisation and Quality of Service68
8.6 Improves Infrastructure69
8.7 Summary70
References70

9 Challenges of Agricultural 4.0 Supply Chains73

9.1 Sector Heterogeneity73
9.2 Farm Size74
9.3 Validation and Collaboration74
9.4 Safety and Security75
9.5 Investment Costs76
9.6 Design and Compatibility77
9.7 Concluding Remarks77
9.8 Summary78
References78
x Contents

10 Conclusion and the Way Forward81

10.1 Summary84

References85

Index99
 About the Authors

Stella Despoudi is Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management

at Aston University, UK and Adjunct Lecturer in Supply Chain
Management at the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. She has
extensive experience in agricultural supply chain management and her
research focuses in the areas of food sustainability, circular economy, resil-
ience, and the Industry 4.0. She has published research papers in the area
of food supply chain management in internationally recognised opera-
tions, supply chain management, and engineering journals such as
International Journal of Production Research, Production Planning and
Control, Annals of Operations Research, and Journal of Information
Management. She has served as Guest Editor for a Special Issue in the
International Journal of Production Research (IJPR). She has been the
lead investigator in research projects related to Food Supply Chain
Management. Some examples are: ‘Sustainability, Resilience, and the
Impact of Industry 4.0 in Agricultural Supply Chains’, and ‘Circular
Agricultural Supply Chains’.
Konstantina Spanaki is a Lecturer in Information Management at
Loughborough University. Her work focuses at the intersection of
Information Systems (IS) and Operations Management (OM). Recently,
she is actively involved in projects related to Data and Information
Management, Technology Management, Data Sharing, Cloud
Computing and Disruptive Technologies. Konstantina’s research has
been published in Information Technology and People, Information
Systems Frontiers, Computers in Industry, the International Journal

xi
xii ABOUT THE AUTHORS

of Production Research, Production Planning and Control and other

IS/OM outlets. She has served as Guest Editor for Special Issues in
Production Planning and Control (PPC) journal, the International
Journal of Production Research (IJPR) and International Journal of
Information Management (IJIM). Konstantina is a member of the
International Editorial Review Board of International Journal of
Information Management (IJIM), co-ordinating editor for
Information Systems Frontiers.
Oscar Rodríguez-Espíndola is a senior lecturer in Operations and
Supply Chain Management at Aston University and a member of the
Aston CRISIS centre. He has published in the area of humanitarian logis-
tics in a range of high-quality journals. His research is focused on Supply
Chain Management, Operational Research, Humanitarian logistics and
Project Management. His expertise includes de use of optimisation mod-
els, simulation and geographical information systems for the analysis of the
supply chain and the development of tools to support logistics decisions.
Efpraxia D. Zamani is a Senior Lecturer of information Systems at the
University of Sheffield. She has received her doctorate from the Department
of Management Science and Technology of the Athens University of
Economics and Business (Greece). Her research interests are found at
the intersection of organizational and social aspects of Information
Systems, with an emphasis on how Information Technology shapes
and is being shaped by work practices. Her work has appeared in the
Information Systems Journal, the Journal of Information Technology,
Government Information Quarterly, Technological Forecasting and
Social Change, Information System Frontiers and the International
Journal of Electronic Commerce, and she has presented her research
in numerous conferences. She has worked on several EU and nation-
ally funded research projects.
 List of Figures

Fig. 5.1 Typical agricultural 4.0 supply chain. (Source: Authors) 39

Fig. 7.1 Comparison between linear economy and circular economy 54
Fig. 7.2 People, process and technology in agricultural supply chains.
(Source: Authors) 58

xiii
 List of Tables

Table 3.1 The three evolutions of agricultural technology 25

Table 4.1 Technological applications of agriculture 4.0 and implications
for agricultural operations 30
Table 5.1 Descriptions of website features 43

xv
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction to This Book

Abstract The introduction chapter presents the aim of this book and
provides summaries of the chapters’ contents.

Keywords Industry 4.0 • Agriculture 4.0

This book aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the concepts of

agriculture 4.0 and agricultural supply chains 4.0, their evolution, their
main characteristics as well as applications. Implications on sustainability
and circular economy practices of ASC are presented too. The opportuni-
ties and challenges of agricultural 4.0 supply chains are discussed too. In
the end future research directions are provided.
Chapter 1 i.e. the current chapter introduces the reader to the topics
are that are covered in this book.
Chapter 2 presents the definition of agricultural supply chains, explains
the need for value-addition in agricultural supply chains, and discusses the
main issues in agricultural supply chains such as food loss, food safety, food
insecurity and accessibility, increased demand for food, decreasing natural
resources, raw materials scarcity, and global food crisis.
Chapter 3 starts with an introduction to industry 4.0 including its
evolution across the years and its different technological applications.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2021
S. Despoudi et al., Agricultural Supply Chains and Industry 4.0,
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2 S. DESPOUDI ET AL.

Then the emergence of the agriculture 4.0 concept is discussed along with
its evolution.
Chapter 4 explains the different technological applications of agricultural
4.0 supply chains which are related to smart farming applications, smart
devices and platforms, IoT, temperature control applications, blockchain
applications, tracking and tracing technologies, autonomous land farming
robots, autonomous aerial farming robots and smart monitors.
Chapter 5 focuses of data sharing issues and the transformation that
agriculture 4.0 brought to supply chains and operations. This transforma-
tion relates to changes in farmers operations, processors operations, dis-
tributors operations, retailers’ operations and consumers.
Chapter 6 discusses the aspect of sustainability in agricultural 4.0 supply
chains. It starts by defining sustainability, the triple bottom line concept,
and sustainability in agricultural supply chains. The chapter concludes
with the concept of sustainability performance and its importance in rela-
tion to agriculture 4.0.
Chapter 7 is about circular economy in agricultural supply chains. First
the definition of circular economy is presented and then the need for cir-
cular economy in agricultural supply chains is outlined. This is followed by
a discussion of the link among corporate social responsibility, circular
economy, agriculture 4.0 and sustainability and this leads to the explana-
tion of the circular economy practices. The chapter concludes with a dis-
cussion of the relationship between circular economy and agriculture 4.0.
Chapter 8 presents the opportunities of agricultural 4.0 supply chains
which include the real-time data analysis and decrease of operational costs,
increase in revenue and production flexibility, improvement in sustainabil-
ity and enablers circular economy, enhanced reliability and uptime, self-­
optimisation and quality of service, and improved infrastructure.
Chapter 9 discusses the challenges of agricultural 4.0 supply chains
which are identified as the following: sector heterogeneity, farm size, vali-
dation and collaboration, safety and security investment costs, and design
and compatibility.
Chapter 10 is the last chapter of this book. The chapter starts with an
overview of the key aspects of the book and then future research avenues
are provided.
 CHAPTER 2

Definition, Current Issues and Areas

for Improvement in Agricultural Supply
Chains

Abstract This chapter starts with an introduction of the agricultural

supply chains and then the need for value addition is explained. The
chapter aims to introduce the reader to the key issues that ASCs are facing
in relation to food loss, food safety, food insecurity and accessibility,
increased demand for food, decreasing natural resources, raw materials
scarcity, and global food crisis. By discussing these issues areas of
improvement emerge which highlight the need for technological solutions
such as agriculture 4.0.

Keywords Agricultural issues • Value-addition • Food insecurity •

Food loss • Food waste • Natural resource scarcity • Food crisis

2.1   Definition of Agricultural Supply

Chain (ASC)
The term Agricultural Supply Chain (ASC) describes the activities from
production to distribution that bring agricultural or horticultural prod-
ucts from the farm to the table (Aramyan and Van Gogh 2014). ASC’s are
formed by organizations responsible for production (producers), distribu-
tion, processing, and marketing of agricultural products to the final
consumers. There are two different types of ASCs. The first one is the SC
of fresh agricultural products, and the second one is the SC for

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 3

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S. Despoudi et al., Agricultural Supply Chains and Industry 4.0,
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4 S. DESPOUDI ET AL.

non-perishable agricultural products (Defra 2006). Fresh agricultural

products include highly perishable crops (e.g. fresh fruits and vegetables)
whose shelf-life can be measured in days, while non-perishable agricultural
products are those that can be stored for longer periods of time (e.g.
grains, potatoes, and nuts). ASCs have some special characteristics which
differentiate them from the other FSC classifications (Foresight 2011b).
Some of those characteristics are the following: limited shelf-life, price
variability, importance of quality and dependence on weather conditions
(FAO 2002). The aforementioned characteristics increase the complexity
of ASCs and make it more difficult to manage them than other FSCs.
Producing and managing fresh agricultural products is more complex
because of their limited shelf-life and the infrastructure needed to main-
tain them.

2.2   The Need for Value-Addition in ASC

Agricultural Supply Chains (ASCs) are an essential part for the survival of
society. Agriculture dates back thousands of years and it has evolved con-
siderably through time. It involves several steps to produce commodities
able to add value for consumers which are arranged in a “farm-to-fork”
sequence. Agricultural supply chains involve “activities such as the pro-
cessing of raw agricultural commodities, checking consumer safety stan-
dards, packing or transport activities add value to food before it is sold.
The food chain links all the market players involved in the production,
processing and distribution of food to consumers” (European_Commission
2015). Agricultural supply chains have different stages and the historical
focus on efficiency makes it essential to identify opportunities to prioritise
value adding activities. Humphrey and Memedovic (2006) highlight four
links for value addition in agricultural supply chains:

• Inputs—It involves companies producing the materials required for

farming and it has been significantly focused on seeds, agrochemi-
cals, machinery and equipment;
• Production—This stage is related to the agricultural production and
it involves farming activities necessary to transform the inputs into
consumable commodities;
• Processing—This step involves activities ranging from handling,
preserving and transferring fresh product for consumption, to the
transformation of agricultural outputs into processed products;
 2 DEFINITION, CURRENT ISSUES AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT… 5

• Delivery—This part is focused on the point of sale of products.

Agricultural products can be sold through open markers, wholesal-
ers, retail (e.g. in the supermarket) or to become part of the catering
industry (e.g. restaurants).

2.3   Key Issues in Agricultural Supply Chains

Although ASC stakeholders make efforts to improve and increase the
value adding activities there are different extrinsic and intrinsic factors that
affect value-adding activities to happen but also show that value addition
is not sufficient to make the chain efficient and effective. The increase in
demand stemming from population growth, the percentage of under-
nourished people because of the high level of poverty, constraints in raw
materials, and global crisis represent of the most demanding external pres-
sures. At the same time, agricultural supply chains are complex because of
the nature of the products and processes. Post-harvest loss, perishability,
food safety, food accessibility, increased demand for food, decreasing natu-
ral resources, raw materials scarcity, global food crises, and food quality
represent significant challenges.
The world population has been predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050
and this will require a 70% increase in food production (FAO 2009). Due
to that food insecurity concerns are arising as producing sufficient food,
distributing it appropriately and avoiding wastage are key (Foresight
2011a). Food security refers to the situation when people have consistent
and everyday physical, social and economic access to safe and nutritious
food of their preferences (FAO 2011). The COVID-19 pandemic indi-
cated that the food security issue is not affecting only developing countries
but also developed ones such as European countries. During the first wave
of the pandemic in particular due to the closed borders and the logistics
disruptions there were many food shortages. For example, many people
even in the UK did not have access to the food of their preference as it was
out-of-stock and it was unclear when it will be available again. Therefore,
food security is an aspect in ASCs that needs to be improved globally.
The reduction of the natural resources available and the expected future
scarcity of them highlights the need that resources need to be preserved
and alternative ways to produce current food products need to be identi-
fied (Despoudi 2019). ASC companies are working with producers to find
ways to invest back to the land from which they are sourcing their raw
materials by replanting crops, and trees. Also, food manufacturers are
6 S. DESPOUDI ET AL.

making efforts to find new ways to produce food products in ways that the
natural resource usage is reduced, or even alternative raw materials are
identified. Although there is progress on that there is still a long way from
achieving improvements in natural resources availability. The human activ-
ities globally caused significant damage to the environment and this has
huge implications on the biodiversity of the species with many plants and
animals becoming extinct. This also affected the natural land availability as
due to its heavy usage from growing food and the increased use of chemi-
cals in production is limited; this highlight the need of finding new ways
to grow crops with different innovative methods that reduce the negative
environmental implications (Vidal 2012).
Another issue in ASCs is food losses or food waste (Despoudi 2016).
Food loss refers to reductions in edible food mass throughout the part of
the supply chain that specifically leads to edible food for human consump-
tion (FAO 2011). Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain
from initial agricultural production down to final household consump-
tion. It has been estimated that between 25% and 50% of the food pro-
duced is lost or wasted along the supply chain and does not reach
consumers, depending on its position in the supply chain (FAO 2010). In
the ASC the majority of food is lost from the producers to the retailers
point (Gustavsson et al. 2011). Smallholder producers despite producing
more than 70% world’s food, they represent more than half of the world’s
hungriest people (Gidney 2012). Most of the research about food loss is
focused either at retailers’ or at consumers’ point in the ASC (Despoudi
2020a; WRAP 2011). There is limited research about food loss from the
producers’ perspective (Despoudi 2016; Despoudi et al. 2018). Although
there is much discussed on food loss within the supply chain management
literature, there is limited information on how to reduce and prevent it
from happening in the upstream ASC (Parfitt et al. 2010). There is a need
for developing a sustainable and fair ASC (Driscoll 2012). Reducing food
losses can increase grain supply, food availability and food security without
wasting other resources such as land, labour, water and inputs. Therefore,
new ways need to be found in order to enable food losses reduction in the
upstream supply chain which will enable the chain to become more
sustainable.
At the consumers stage there are also food losses due to consumers
throwing away food or not recycling food packaging. In response to that
companies need to invest in sustainable food packaging. Consumers want
products with recyclable packaging, however in many cases it is not clear
 2 DEFINITION, CURRENT ISSUES AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT… 7

which packaging is recyclable and how and where it should be recycled.

Recycling guidelines need to be simplified and new smart ways to enable
recycling need to be identified. Sustainable food packaging is the packag-
ing that enables food waste reduction by providing longer shelf-life, pre-
serves the nutrients of the food products, enhances the food safety
credentials, and prevents from possible contamination as well as from
food-borne diseases (Green Alliance 2020). Sustainable packing needs to
be environmentally sustainable too by addressing the crucial issue of envi-
ronmentally persistent plastic waste accumulation and the saving of oil and
food material resources. However, this might lead to an increase in indi-
vidual product unit costs and prices, especially during the early phases of
product introduction, which may directly affect consumer behaviour and
market acceptance (Han et al. 2018). Companies are also making efforts
to educate consumers on how to reduce their food loss levels individually
through cooking recipes or better shopping plans.
Climatic change and future scarcity of natural resources put limits to
growth in agriculture and food production, which means that a 70%
increase in food production to feed nine billion people is impossible to be
achieved (Hodges et al. 2010). Climatic change also has and will continue
to have in the future severe negative consequences to the ASC (Askew
2019). Weather changes in the form of extreme weather events, the rise of
global temperature, and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions are the
main causes of climate change that will impact significantly the ASC. Plant
and animals’ diseases are expected to grow and this will impact signifi-
cantly food production and planetary limits. Rockström et al. (2009)
introduced a set of nine boundaries to quantify the safe limits that the
earth can safely live in and outside of which the earth cannot function
normally. These boundaries include; climate change, biodiversity loss, bio-
geochemical, ocean acidification, land use, freshwater availability, strato-
sphere ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols and chemical pollution. We
have already crossed beyond the safe zone for three boundaries, namely
climate change, biodiversity loss and biogeochemical flows; while the oth-
ers are under immense pressure from ongoing depleting ecological prac-
tices (Matthews et al. 2016). New ways to live, preserve and grow crops
need to be identified.
According to Bennett’s Law increasing wealth pushes people in
consumption of higher calories food such as fats, protein, and sugar
(Godfray et al. 2010). Those dietary changes affect significantly the ASC
as high caloric diets require more natural resources to be spent. Efforts are
8 S. DESPOUDI ET AL.

made by governments to reduce companies’ unethical behaviour to

people’s livelihoods through tax penalties. Consumers have also started to
have increasing concerns about the healthiness aspects of the food products
that they consume. ASC companies have been criticised for the unhealthy
materials and packaging as well with recent research indicating the exis-
tence of microplastics in food with plastic packaging. ASC companies are
now faced with the challenge to preserve food shelf-life but also reduce
plastic food packaging and at the same time have products made out of
healthy materials. The governance of the global ASC at both national and
international levels is another challenge that the ASC is facing (FAO
2017). The globalisation of the markets led to changes in power imbal-
ance in the ASC and this creates governance issues in the sector. More
precisely, producers are the less powerful in the ASC, while large-scale
retailers dominating the sector (EU 2017). This creates further issues in
the ASC as the pressure coming from the large companies is putting pres-
sure on reducing food prices. ASC in order to survive they may be using
unethical practices such as food adulteration and food authenticity issues.
There are increasing cases of food fraud cases globally and these lead to
consumer mistrust issues. Food authenticity is about the food product
matching its description, when they do not match, it is considered as food
fraud or else called food crime (Food Standards Agency 2019). ASC to
ensure that food fraud is minimised they need to increase ASC visibility
and transparency as much as possible.
Global crises such as the covid-19 pandemic showed that the current
ASCs are very vulnerable and at the same time essential in times of crisis.
During this pandemic ASCs were stressed as consumers where panic buy-
ing, producers and workers in the sector where in quarantine or working
in shifts and international borders were closed. Supermarkets online deliv-
eries are becoming more and more important as safety measures and quar-
antine periods are in place. However, most of the supermarkets are not
able to respond the online consumer orders. ASC SMEs are also facing the
technology accessibility issues since all food shopping has moved online.
Even in local markets where small-scale producers were able to sell their
products there were restrictions on the number of producers allowed per
market. This caused significant issues for SMEs and small producers who
are unable to sell their produce under the crisis circumstances and it is
questionnaire how they are going to survive. Large supermarkets and
retailers see their profits increasing substantially as they have access to
 2 DEFINITION, CURRENT ISSUES AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT… 9

technological solutions. Even when current technological solutions are in

place the increased demand for online services requires significantly
improved technological solutions to be able to cope with the increased
customers’ requests. Many people even in developed countries reported
that during the pandemic they are facing food insecurity issues due to food
not being available or even not being able to buy online as they may not
have access to the web. Hence, investing in technology seems to be one
solution, but financing of this technology is the key to achieve that.
There have been many changes in the ASCs in order to respond to the
aforementioned challenges and pressures to increase its sustainability
(Otles et al. 2014; Despoudi 2020b). Thus, the world’s food insecurity
issue is becoming a major concern. The rising population, the fewer natu-
ral resources available, the changing consumer needs and wants, the insuf-
ficient acceleration of technology, the high levels of food waste rise, and
the unpredictability of future crises are major concerns about world’s food
insecurity.
Routroy and Behera (2017) suggested that there are three areas of
opportunity for the improvement of agricultural supply chains:

• Traceability—Enhancing visibility throughout the supply chain will

improve reliability of the products, provide more certainty about the
origin and quality of the products, and increase accountability to
develop consumer trust.
• Logistics—The high percentage of cost invested in logistics and the
problems created by poor logistics alternatives in the transportation
of products make logistics an area with significant potential to reduce
the waste and losses of product.
• Information technology—Flexibility and responsiveness are
advantages that can come from the introduction of technology to
develop solutions that can improve the production, management
and delivery of agricultural products.

Agriculture 4.0 is a new area that is based on these aspects through

the use of Industry 4.0 technological applications to improve ASCs.
Therefore, on the issues that the ASC is facing it is suggested the invest-
ments in agricultural 4.0 technologies could ensure ASC sustainability
and competitiveness.
10 S. DESPOUDI ET AL.

2.4   Summary
This chapter started with the definition of agricultural supply chains and
then the need for value addition in this sector. It introduced the reader to
the key issues surrounding agricultural supply chains which are related to
food loss, food safety, food insecurity and accessibility, increased demand
for food, decreasing natural resources, raw materials scarcity, and global
food crisis. This discussion led the reader to conclusion that there is a need
for technological solutions in this sector which will come through agricul-
ture 4.0 technological applications.

References
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report.pdf
 CHAPTER 3

From Industry 4.0 to Agriculture 4.0

Abstract This chapters starts through the explanation of the industry 4.0
concepts, its evolution, and its different technological applications. As part
of Industry 4.0 a wide range of technological applications are discussed
which are: big data analytics, autonomous robots, simulation, horizontal
and vertical system integration, IoT, the cloud, additive manufacturing,
augmented reality. Then the concept of agriculture 4.0 and its emergence
are introduced, and this is followed by the evolution of agricultural
technologies.

Keywords Industry 4.0 • Agriculture 4.0 • Evolution • Blockchain •

Big data analytics • Autonomous robots • Simulation • Horizontal and
vertical system integration • IoT • The cloud • Additive manufacturing
• Augmented reality

3.1   The Evolution of Industry 4.0

3.1.1  Definition of Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 has become known as a buzzword for the shift towards the
automation and digitization of manufacturing practices (Oesterreich and
Teuteber 2016). However, to precisely define a concept that is still in its
relative development has proved challenging, with recent studies finding
more than 100 different definitions (Moeuf et al. 2017). Rejikumar et al.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 13

Switzerland AG 2021
S. Despoudi et al., Agricultural Supply Chains and Industry 4.0,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72770-3_3
14 S. DESPOUDI ET AL.

(2019) have attempted to draw together the different identified attributes

of Industry 4.0, concluding that Industry 4.0 is both ‘the means for
autonomous operations of process from manufacturing to service sectors’,
and is ‘a bundle of technologies, which companies can adopt for business
excellence’. Whilst this is slightly more refined than defining Industry 4.0
as a co-operation project between the private sector, academia and gov-
ernment (Kang et al. 2016) that revolves around ‘networks of manufac-
turing resources (manufacturing machinery, robots, conveyor and
warehousing systems and production facilities) that are autonomous,
capable of controlling themselves in response to different situations, self-
configuring, knowledge-based, sensor equipped and spatially dispersed
that also incorporate the relevant planning and management systems’
(Kagermann et al. 2013), it still only offers limited clarity.
This idea that Industry 4.0 is an integration of cyber-physical technolo-
gies into business processes (including through the Internet of Things) was
also championed by Oberg and Graham (2016), but still does not offer a
precise definition. Instead, it offers a broad concept that works well as a
label, but less well when required to provide a more specific insight. Despite
Kagermann’s wide-ranging synopsis, there is still debate between both
researchers and practitioners over which elements comprise Industry 4.0,
how they link and interact with each other, and where Industry 4.0 is even
applicable (Hermann et al. 2016). At the more extreme end of the debate
surrounding Industry 4.0, the argument has also been made by Drath and
Horch (2014) that the concept is nothing new; rather, it is simply a com-
bination of existing technologies and concepts packaged up and given a
catchy name. For the benefit of this study, the definition of Industry 4.0 to
be used is that put forward by Oberg and Graham (2016): Industry 4.0 is
an integration of cyber-physical systems (CPS) in different processes with
the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and services in business processes.

3.1.2  The Evolution to Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 has produced the evolution of manufacturing and industry
practices through the use of emergent technologies and promoting con-
nectivity. The digitalisation of industry is achieved through the conver-
gence of the physical and the virtual realities (Hahn 2020). The trend
created by Industry 4.0 has been extending to different human activities
and it has been suggested as a valuable tool to support sustainability. The
emerging phenomenon of Industry 4.0 can be tentatively compared with
the three industrial revolutions that occurred in the last centuries. As a
 3 FROM INDUSTRY 4.0 TO AGRICULTURE 4.0 15

result, one could argue that the disruptive changes in manufacturing came
as a succeeding result of the evolving operational transformation (Pereira
and Romero 2017; Schmidtet al. 2015; Ben-Daya et al. 2017). The path
towards Industry 4.0 can be presented through multiple studies in the
area, but the precise context, definition and applications are still in prog-
ress (Pereira and Romero 2017; Shrouf et al. 2014; Liao et al. 2017). The
Industrial Revolution has evolved in four phases (from Industry 1.0 to
Industry 4.0) and progressed in parallel with the innovations and develop-
ments in the manufacturing process. Those advances are described as:

• Industry 1.0 (end of eighteenth century to early nineteenth cen-

tury): this period involved the use of steam power.
• Industry 2.0 (late nineteenth century): this period saw the move
from the stem power to the electrical power, where the latter was
used to advance production towards a massive production model.
• Industry 3.0 (mid-twentieth century): this period saw the enhance-
ment of the massive-production paradigms through the use of ICTs
and microelectronics, which were introduced in the production line.
• Industry 4.0 (today): the previous periods paved the way for the
latest evolution through the deployment of cyber-physical systems,
the popularisation of the concept of the Internet-of-Things (IoT),
the Internet-of-Services (IoS), cloud technologies, Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Big Data for the industrial context.

As an expected and inevitable change, the manufacturing sector was

proactively prepared for the transformational potential of Industry 4.0 (the
most suitable manufacturing model was defined early in advance, and the
operational processes and targets were pre-planned), along with the associ-
ated challenges (Pereira and Romero 2017). From a technological view-
point, Industry 4.0 can be seen as the ‘increased digitisation and automation
in addition to an increased communication enabled by the creation of a digi-
tal value chain’ (Oesterreich and Teuteberg 2016). Comparatively, the
OECD definition describes Industry 4.0 as ‘entail[ing] a confluence of tech-
nologies ranging from a variety of digital technologies (e.g. 3D printing,
Internet of Things, advanced robotics) to new materials (e.g. bio or nano-
based) to new processes (e.g. data-driven production, artificial intelligence,
synthetic biology) and these technologies will be available in the near future.’
Along these lines, the main features introduced by Industry 4.0 may be
divided across three major dimensions of integration, following, namely:
(1) horizontal integration through value networks, (2) vertical integration
and networked manufacturing systems and (3) end-to-end digital
Another random document with
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THE SURPRISE
 CHAPTER XI
THE SURPRISE

A few days after this John McClure, as he was still called, set sail
for Europe, and in his place came a quiet young man of whom the
children saw little, as he did not take his meals with them. Since they
were to stay at the Dallas place till November, Mrs. Law thought it
was not worth while for the children to lose all that time from school,
but though Jerry was perfectly willing to go back to his old
classmates, Cassy begged that she might be sent to another school,
and really was quite naughty and rebellious when her mother first
spoke of her going back. But finally, seeing that the child actually
suffered at the thought, her mother decided that she might be sent to
another school not very much further away, and the little girl was
highly pleased to think that she would be known as Catherine Law
and not as Miss Oddity. Her old patched frock had before this been
thrown aside, and she was now able to appear as well-dressed as
her schoolmates, who were in general of a better class than those
who attended the school near Orchard Street, therefore Cassy felt
that matters had bettered in every direction.
She missed her uncle very much, but as time went on they heard
frequently from him, and he wrote that he hoped to be with them
again in November. Before he went away he had had many long
talks with his sister, and they had made many plans.
Just what these were Mrs. Law did not say, but Cassy knew some
of the things that her uncle had decided upon, and her imagination
saw long rows of greenhouses, and a garden in which all manner of
flowers grew. She also knew that her mother was very bright and
happy and that her uncle had said that his sister ought by rights to
have a share in his good fortune, and that he should consider the
half of it belonged to her. Cassy wondered where they would live, but
when she asked her mother about it she only smiled and shook her
head.
 However, one day in the early part of November, Mrs. Law asked,
“How would you children like to take a little journey with me to-
morrow?”
“We’d like it ever so much,” they both exclaimed. “Where is it that
we are going, mother?”
“Shall I tell you or will you have a little surprise?”
“What do you say, Jerry? Shall we have it a surprise?” Cassy
asked.
Jerry thought it over.
“Is it much of a trip?” he inquired; “for if it is, I don’t think I could
keep wanting to know, very long, but if it’s short I could stand it, and I
think it would be fun not to know where we were going.”
“I think so, too,” agreed Cassy.
“It isn’t much of a trip,” Mrs. Law told them; “about an hour by
train.”
“I could stand that, I reckon,” said Jerry. “Couldn’t you, Cassy?”
“Yes, I think I could. Don’t you wonder where it is, Jerry?”
“’Course I do.”
“What are we going for? Can you tell us that much, mother?”
“Do you really want me to?”
Cassy looked at Jerry.
“You might tell us just a little bit, only enough to make it
interesting,” Jerry decided.
“Well, we are going to look at a house. You know we can’t stay
here forever.”
The children looked at each other with dancing eyes.
“I am wild to know more, but I’ll not ask,” said Cassy. “It is too
exciting for anything. Have we got to move before Uncle John comes
back?”
 “No, I don’t think so, but we want to know where we are to go, and
I have heard of this place, so I am to go and look at it and then write
to your uncle about it.”
“Shall I wear my blue frock?” Cassy asked.
“Yes, and I am going to take you out this afternoon and get a new
jacket for you.”
“Oh, good! good! And you’ll wear your new suit and Jerry will wear
his. How nice we will all look. Oh, isn’t it fine to be able to get things
when you need them? Even if we’re not rich we can have ever so
much more than we used to. Are we going to be gone all day to-
morrow?”
“I can’t tell just how long.”
“Shall we take our lunch with us?”
“No, I don’t think that will be necessary, for if we need anything we
can get it after we get there.”
“Then it isn’t in the country,” said Cassy, a little disappointed. “But
think of our taking a real journey. ’Scuse me, mother, but I must go
and talk to Miss Morning-Glory about it, or I’ll ask too many
questions.”
“You’d better get ready to go out with me.”
Thus charged Cassy ran off to dress and they soon started out on
their shopping expedition. Then when a dark-blue jacket had been
selected, Mrs. Law said she must get two or three other things, so
Cassy skipped along very happily by her side. The experience of
going shopping was a rare one, and to see her mother with any
money to spend was such a pleasure that the child enjoyed her
afternoon hugely.
They started about nine o’clock the next morning upon their little
journey. After an hour’s ride, which was by no means a dull one to
the children, they left the train and found themselves at a small
station. Their feet had hardly touched the platform before they heard
a voice call,
 “There they are!” And who should appear but Rock and Eleanor.
“Oh, you did come, didn’t you? We’ve been down here half an hour,”
exclaimed Eleanor. “We were so afraid we’d miss you.”
“Did you know we were coming? Is this where you live?” asked
Cassy, eagerly.
“Yes will answer both those questions,” Eleanor replied. “Come
right along; we’re going up in the stage; it passes the place where
you have to get out. Weren’t you surprised when your mother told
you where you were coming?”
“She didn’t tell us. We had the surprise when we got here.”
“Oh, what fun! Then you don’t know the rest, and I’ll not tell you.
This is the stage; climb in.”
They all took their places and the stage rattled up the long street.
Just where the houses were beginning to be quite far apart, at the
turn of a lane, Rock exclaimed: “Here we are! Tumble out, Jerry.” He
got out himself first and stood politely to see that Mrs. Law and the
two girls were safely helped down, then they turned into the lane and
Rock led the way, with Mrs. Law and Jerry, while the girls followed.
Cassy looked around her with observant eyes.
“I never knew the country was so lovely at this time of year,” she
said. “It doesn’t look bare and ugly at all, and Miss Morning-Glory
said it would.”
Eleanor laughed.
“You see Miss Morning-Glory didn’t know what she was talking
about. Do you see her often now?”
“Not very. If we come up here, I don’t believe she will come at all.”
Eleanor laughed again; this idea of Cassy’s friend, that was only
an imaginary being, always amused her very much.
“If she doesn’t like the country all the year around I think she’d
better not come,” she said.
“It is lovely,” repeated Cassy; “the trees are all purple ’way off
there, and some of them are dark red near by, and the grass looks
all sort of golden, and the sky is so blue, and off that way it is smoky
purple. I like it.”
“Now that we’re almost there I’m going to tell you that this is the
place we talked about, don’t you remember?” said Eleanor.
“Oh, is it? I am so glad. I wonder where the greenhouses will be.”
“The greenhouses? What greenhouses?” Eleanor looked
astonished.
“Oh, I forgot, you don’t know.”
Rock heard her, and speaking over his shoulder said: “The
greenhouses will have to be built, Cassy. There is room enough for
them, as you’ll see. Look right ahead through those trees and you
will see the cottage.”
“Come,” cried Eleanor, catching Cassy by the hand, “let’s get there
first.” They ran ahead through the crisp brown leaves and stood
panting on the porch, that porch of which they had talked, and to
which still clung the morning-glory vines now withered and dry, but
showing rustling seed pods.
Rock produced the key of the house and they all went in. Mrs. Law
looked around critically. A hall ran through the middle of the house,
and on each side were two rooms. Above stairs there were four
comfortable bedrooms and a small one over the hall; an unfinished
garret gave plenty of storeroom.
Rock watched Mrs. Law’s face. This place was his special
discovery, and he was very anxious that it should be appreciated. He
showed off the various good points with the air of one who has a
personal interest. The view from the windows, the advantage of a
porch both front and back, the dry cellar, the closets in each room; all
these things were pointed out and Mrs. Law declared that, so far as
she was concerned, the house would be all that one could wish
when certain repairs had been made.
“The only point,” she said, “is the land. If that suits John’s purpose
I am more than satisfied. I will describe it to him as nearly as
possible, and I hope he will make up his mind to come, but I rather
think he will want to see it himself first.”
Rock looked a little disappointed.
“I did hope you could get settled right off.”
“We couldn’t do that anyhow,” Mrs. Law told him, “for there are
repairs to be made. I think as long as the place has been standing
idle for some time, and as you say, there are no applicants, that very
likely we can get the refusal of it, and I know when John comes he
will lose no time in looking at it.”
This seemed the best that could be done and they started back
towards the town.
“You are coming to our house to lunch, you know,” said Eleanor. “It
isn’t very far to walk.”
“Oh, my dear,” expostulated Mrs. Law, “I couldn’t think of such a
thing.”
“Oh, but you see,” said Eleanor, with decision, “mamma expects
you. She would have come down to the train herself, but she
couldn’t; she had a caller on very particular business, but she will be
looking for us, and Bubbles is just wild to see Cassy, and I promised
May Garland that I would bring Cassy over there to see the baby and
the chickens and everything. Then Rock wants to show Jerry where
he will go to school, and, oh my, if you don’t stay what will we do?”
Mrs. Law had to smile at her look of distress, and Cassy looked up
at her mother pleadingly. She did so very much want to see all these
people and the things of which she had heard Eleanor talk so much.
“There comes mamma now,” cried Eleanor. “She has driven out to
meet us with the pony. Now, Mrs. Law, you can get in and drive back
with her, and we will walk.”
Cassy had heard of this wonderful Shetland pony, Eleanor’s
dearest possession, and she drew a long breath of pleasure. She
would dearly have liked to drive behind him herself, and as if reading
her thought, Eleanor said: “We will go for a little drive this afternoon,
you and Jerry and Rock and I. You will not have to go till the late
train, I know.”
Cassy bestowed a beaming smile upon her.
“I don’t believe Miss Morning-Glory will want to come,” she said
with conviction.
By the time they had reached the gate, Mrs. Law and Eleanor’s
mother had gone in and it was evidently settled that the visitors were
to remain till after lunch.
“And please say you will not go till the late train,” Eleanor begged
Mrs. Law. “We’ve got so much to do.”
“And it will not keep till another time, I suppose,” returned Mrs.
Law.
“Your Aunt Dora promised to come over this afternoon; she wants
to see Mrs. Law, and I think we can persuade these friends to stay,”
said Eleanor’s mother.
“You will stay, won’t you, mother?” begged both Cassy and Jerry.
“Please,” added Rock and Eleanor. And Mrs. Dallas smiling,
repeated, “Please.” So Mrs. Law declared herself more than
persuaded, and that matter was settled.
“Which shall we do first, go over to May Garland’s or to drive?”
Eleanor asked Cassy.
“I think you’d better take your drive first,” suggested her mother.
“The days are so short and you’d best be near home when it gets
dark.”
“All right, we will do that. You must come right back after lunch,
Rock,” called Eleanor, as the boy was about to go.
Just then a smiling little colored girl appeared at the door. She
rolled her eyes delightedly in Cassy’s direction as she announced,
“Lunch ready, Mis’ Dallas.”
Cassy knew that this must be Bubbles, and she smiled in return.
Bubbles was so overcome with pleasure that she ducked her head
and giggled as she disappeared.
 “I think you’ve two of the nicest things in the world,” said Cassy, as
they went into the dining-room, “and they’re both black; a Bubbles
and a pony.”
Eleanor laughed.
“I don’t know what I should do without them. Bubbles says she is
going to live with me when I grow up, but she’s getting pretty big
now, and I am so afraid she will get married first and will go off and
leave me.”
After lunch Eleanor showed her guest her little bedroom and her
playhouse in the yard where she kept her dolls, her books and many
of her treasures, and Cassy thought that in all her life she had never
dreamed of such a favored child as Eleanor Dallas.
“Aren’t you ’most happy enough to fly?” she asked.
“Why?” said Eleanor.
“I would be, if I had all these things and this lovely place to live in
and a papa.”
Eleanor put her arm around her.
“You have an Uncle John, and he will be just like a papa, I know.”
Cassy agreed that it was indeed something to be thankful for, and
then Rock called them to say that Spice was getting impatient, and
when were they coming.
So off they set, the little pony’s short quick steps taking them along
at a good rate. The sparkling November air made them all as lively
as possible; Cassy alone was almost too happy for words, but the
others chattered without stopping, and at last, on their return to town,
they stopped at May Garland’s gate and the drive was over. The girls
went in and the two boys drove around to put Spice in the stable.
May Garland with her dog, her cats, her chickens, and last, but not
least, her sweet baby sister, Rosalie, was a very desirable
acquaintance, Cassy thought, and when Bubbles came flying in with
the message that they must come back at once as it was nearly train
time, Cassy thought she had never known so short an afternoon.
 As May Garland lived in the next house to the Dallas’s they had
not far to go, and arrived to find Mrs. Law ready to start for the train.
“I hate to have you go,” said Eleanor at parting, “but I am going to
think you are coming back again soon; and oh, I do hope you will go
to our school, you nice, funny girl, and I am so very, very glad that
everybody is happy and that everything is happening so beautifully
for you.”
UNCLE JOHN ARRIVES
 CHAPTER XII
UNCLE JOHN ARRIVES

The next great thing to look for was the return of Uncle John. He
was not one to waste his time, and he had been able to arrange his
affairs more quickly than Mrs. Law had dared to hope, for he wrote
that they might look for him the latter part of November, and Mrs.
Law busied herself in making her preparations to leave the Dallas
place.
There had been a sharp frost, which even the chrysanthemums
had not withstood, so the garden looked bare and dreary. The arbor
vitæ hedge alone kept its green, and as Cassy stood looking at the
wisps of straw which covered the rose-bushes, she told herself that
she really felt less sorry to leave than she had ever thought she
could. The prospect of that other garden near to Eleanor and to May
Garland, that cottage which overlooked a shining strip of river, and in
sight of which were the purple hills, all this made her feel that she
was to gain more than she was to lose.
“Although I am going away, I shall always love you very, very
much, you dear garden,” she whispered. “I will never forget you, and
you must take good care of my mouse and my spiders, and some
day I will come back and see you, roses, dear, when you come out of
your funny little straw houses. In a few days we shall all be gone and
I will be outside your brick wall, you dear garden.”
She walked slowly back to the house, though Jerry was calling:
“Hurry, hurry, Cassy.” Then it suddenly occurred to her that maybe
her Uncle John had come, and she ran very fast up the garden path
towards the house. Sure enough, that was why Jerry had called, for
before she had reached the porch steps she was caught up by a pair
of strong arms and her own clasped her uncle’s neck.
“I am so glad, so glad to see you, you dear, dearest uncle,” she
said.
 “And I am glad to see my little lassie again. I was homesick for her
many a time, my little Cassy.”
“And you’ll never, never go back there again.”
“Not unless I take you with me. When you’re a young lady,
perhaps, we’ll all go over and have a look at things together.”
Cassy gave him a hug and he put her down.
There was much to talk about, so much to do and to see that for
the next week they seemed in a whirl. First there was a mysterious
package of presents which Uncle John had brought with him, and
which was found to contain a piece of soft wool material, a true
Scotch plaid, for a new frock for Cassy, and a new doll from London,
which Cassy admired very much, but which she played with only on
special occasions, for her beloved Flora was not to be cast aside for
any newcomer. For Jerry there was a suit of Scotch tweed and a little
silver watch, while for Mrs. Law there was a piece of silk for a new
gown and some other things, mementoes of her childhood, a bit of
heather, a pin in which was set a Scotch pebble, and a lot of
photographs of her old home and the surrounding country. These
last were a great source of pleasure to the children, especially to
Cassy, who sat and dreamed over them, imagining her mother a tiny
child with her sturdy little brother by her side playing in that home
over the sea.
The very next day after his arrival Uncle John went to look at the
place upon which they had all set their hearts.
“I can scarcely wait till he comes back, can you, mother?” said
Jerry.
“Don’t you want dreadfully to go there?” asked Cassy.
“Not dreadfully. I should be content anywhere, I think, with my dear
children and my brother; but for your sakes, my darlings, I’d like to
go.”
“Then I think we will,” said Cassy, “for Uncle John loves me very
much, and I told him I’d be dreadfully disappointed if he didn’t like
the place.”
 Her mother laughed.
“I think then he’ll try very hard to like it.”
“Isn’t it funny when he went away he was John McClure, and when
he came back he was John Kennedy; I like him best to be John
Kennedy, because he has a part of my name,” said Cassy.
She was right in supposing that her uncle would try to like the
place, and it is quite true also, that Rock’s eagerness and Cassy’s
desire in the matter had much to do with his decision. At all events
when he did return that evening, he told them that he had not only
bought the place, but that he had set the painters and carpenters to
work, and that he wanted his sister and Cassy to go down town with
him the next day to choose the papers for the walls, and that he
hoped in a couple of weeks they could move in.
“I’ve a deal of work to get done before spring,” he said, “and so I
can’t afford to lose any time, besides I have so set my heart on a
little home for us all that I am as impatient as the children.”
“I’m glad you are impatient,” said Cassy with satisfaction.
The choosing of the wall papers was a most bewildering and
fascinating work, and when Cassy saw a certain design of roses on
a cream ground she begged to have that for her room.
“And what am I to have?” asked her uncle.
Cassy gravely considered chrysanthemums and buttercups and
purple clematis.
“Which do you like best?” she asked.
“Yours,” he returned.
The shopman unrolled another paper, and Cassy gave a little
scream of delight.
“You can have the other,” she cried, for here were morning-glories,
delicately trailing up a creamy white paper; curling tendrils, heart
shaped leaves, and all, looked so very natural.
 “I’ll agree,” said her uncle. “I will take the roses,” and so with
buttercups for Jerry and chrysanthemums for Mrs. Law they were all
satisfied.
Then came the buying of furniture, for Mrs. Law’s poor little stock
would go only a very little way towards being enough, and next there
were carpets and curtains and many other things, and finally there
came a day when Mrs. Law went up to the cottage with her brother
to set up the furniture which had been unpacked and stood ready to
be placed in the different rooms.
At last came the time when they were to leave the Dallas place to
take possession of their new home. Martha had been on hand for
several days getting Mrs. Dallas’s rooms all in order, uncovering the
furniture and pictures and getting out the ornaments; the
upholsterers had been at work putting up the curtains and putting
down the carpets and rugs so that the house, when they left it,
appeared very much as it did that day when Cassy had first seen it,
and was less familiar to her than it had been in its summer aspect.
Along the garden walks gusts of wind were sweeping the dry leaves
and it looked wintry and cold out there.
“I’d rather see our purple hills and the river than brick walls; we
have ever so much more view,” said Cassy, triumphantly.
“You are getting very top-lofty,” returned her mother. “I remember a
little girl who, not a year ago, thought it would be paradise to get
inside this place, and now she thinks it is rather contracted.”
“Oh, but I love it, too, though I like my own home better.” She sat
with folded hands looking very thoughtful after this. Her mother
watched her for a little while.
“A penny for your thoughts,” she said, gaily. She was often quite
gay and smiling these days, different from that quiet, patient, gentle
mother who had always smiled so sadly and who had to work so
hard for her children.
Cassy held out her hand.
“The penny, please,” she said. “I was thinking about Mrs. Boyle
and the parrot and Billy Miles and all those people, and I was
wondering whether I ought to go and say good-bye to them.”
“Do you want to?”
“Not exactly. I do for some reasons.”
“What reasons?” Her mother looked at her with a half smile.
“I believe you know, mother.” She hung her head. “I would like
them to know we are going to have our own lovely little home, and I
would like to show off before the girls a little.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. It is perfectly natural that you should
feel so, but after all I think I wouldn’t do it. Jerry has let the boys
know of all the pleasant things that have happened and I think we
need not do any more.”
“I think after all I’m rather glad not to. I never, never want to see
that back yard again; do you?”
“No, my dear, no.”
Cassy’s Uncle John had already gone up to take possession of the
new home and was there to welcome them when they arrived. He
had bought a comfortable dayton and a pair of strong horses and
was at the station to meet them. Cassy’s heart beat so fast and she
was so overcome when they came within sight of the house that she
slipped down on the floor of the dayton and buried her face in her
mother’s lap. Mrs. Law laid her hand gently on the child’s. She
understood the excitable, intense nature.
John Kennedy, looking over his shoulder at the back seat, missed
his little niece.
“Where’s Cassy?” he asked.
She lifted her head and he saw her trembling lips and moist eyes.
“Not crying, Cassy?” he said.
“I’m not crying because I am sorry, Uncle John, but I’m so glad I
can’t help it.”
As they stopped before the gate, after turning in from the long
lane, there came a shout and a hallo, and around the corner of the
house came Rock, Eleanor, May Garland and Bubbles, all capering
about in delight and calling out a dozen things before the newcomers
had left their places. Jerry was the first to scramble down. He viewed
the house now spick and span in its new coat of paint.
“My, doesn’t it look fine?” he cried. And he made a rush for the
porch.
“May and I were coming down for you in the pony carriage, but we
thought maybe you’d rather ride up in your uncle’s new dayton,”
Eleanor said to Cassy, who hadn’t a word to say. She only looked
from one to the other smiling. “We haven’t been all over the house
yet,” Eleanor went on to say. “Your uncle said you would like to show
it to us yourself. Isn’t it funny that we’ve got to learn to call him Mr.
Kennedy?”
They all went in and Cassy led them from room to room. It was all
neat and comfortable with no attempt at show, but very cheerful and
homelike, “just as a cottage should be,” Mrs. Law had said.
When the house was fully viewed and they had peeped into all the
closets and corners, Eleanor gave Rock a look and he said, “We’ve
got something to show you out in the stable. Just wait a minute, you
and Jerry, and then come out there. You needn’t wait but five
minutes.” Then the four visitors ran out, leaving Jerry and Cassy to
wonder what was coming next.
They were so happy over all these delightful new things that as
soon as the other children disappeared they hugged each other and
danced up and down repeating in a singsong: “We’ve got a new
home! We’ve got a new home!” for the want of something better to
do and finding no other way to give vent to their feelings.
“It’s five minutes,” said Jerry, looking at his new watch. “Come on,”
and they ran out to the stable, but, before they reached it, out came
Rock bearing a Skye-terrier puppy in his arms. It was as much as
possible like Ragged Robin and about the size he was when Jerry
rescued him.
“It’s for you, old fellow,” said Rock, and then, boy-like, he turned
away before Jerry could say a word of thanks.
 After Rock came Eleanor carrying in her arms a dear little kitten
with the bluest eyes and with soft gray fur. She gave it carefully into
Cassy’s arms.
“Miss Morning-Glory told me that she thought you would like to
have a kitty,” she said, laughing.
Then came May Garland, a little shy, but with eyes full of laughter.
She had a basket in her hand.
“You can’t hold this, too,” she said, “but you see it is a little hen.”
She opened the basket and Cassy laughed as the buff hen cocked
her head to one side and made the remark: “Caw; caw!”
Not to be outdone by the others, Bubbles, chuckling and trying to
swallow her laugh, held a small box in her hand. There was a
scrambling and a scurrying inside. Cassy wondered what it could be.
“Miss Dimple say you lak mouses,” said Bubbles, “and I fetch yuh
dis one.”
Cassy put her kitten into Eleanor’s arms.
“Hold it for me,” she said, “and don’t let it go.” She took the box,
but too late heeded Bubbles’ warning. “Take keer!” for Miss Mouse
giving a sudden spring lifted the lid of the box as Cassy was
preparing to peep in, and leaping out scurried away out of sight as
fast as she could go.
“Oh!” exclaimed Cassy dismayed and hardly aware of what had
happened. But Bubbles threw up her hands and brought them
together with a shout of delight. It was just the kind of sensation that
she enjoyed.
“Ne’min’, Miss Cassy,” she said. “I reckons hit’s a good thing fo’
Miss Mouse she git away, fur de kitten mought git her.”
“Let’s make a house for the hen,” said Rock to Jerry who had
followed up Rock and now had returned to see what all this fun was
about.
“All right,” said Jerry, glad for some excuse to exercise his
energies. “I’m going to keep the puppy right with me all the time. I tell
you, he is a dandy. I am awfully glad to have him.”
“You’ll call him Ragged Robin, won’t you?”
“Yes, but I’ll call him Robin for short.”
The boys went into the stable to find something for the hen-coop,
and the girls went to the house. They found a pleasant-looking, rosy-
cheeked maid installed in the kitchen, and passing through they went
on up to Cassy’s morning-glory room. But by the time the boys had
settled the hen in her new home it was growing late and the visitors
took their leave with many friendly good-byes and neighborly
invitations. Cassy watched them depart and then went to her mother.
Out of doors Jerry and his uncle were looking over the land on
which would soon appear the rows of greenhouses. A shining line of
silver showed through the trees, telling where the river was. Behind
the purple hills the sun had set, and there was a gorgeous western
sky. With her head on her mother’s shoulder Cassy watched the
clouds of amethyst and gold and red.
“The sun has walked through his garden,” she said. “See all the
bunches of flowers in the sky. Aren’t you so happy it most hurts you,
mother?”
“I am very thankful and content,” she said.
“Monday morning Eleanor is going to call for me to take me to
school; she is coming with her pony carriage. Isn’t it good of Uncle
John to want me to go to that school? I must go and tell him. Kiss
me, mother, I am going to find Uncle John.”
Her mother kissed her and presently saw her stepping carefully
over the clods of earth, her face aglow with the rosy light from the
sky. She was singing in a shrill little voice: “Home sweet home.” Jerry
had forsaken his uncle and had gone to his beloved puppy, but
Uncle John heard Cassy and held out his hand. She went to him and
together they watched the daylight fade.
“But there’s such a beautiful to-morrow coming,” said Cassy, as
they walked towards the cottage in the waning light.